“Top 10 Must Haves When Searching For A Dentist”
If there is one appointment we dread more than our “lady” doctor it is the dentist office. The entire experience is a sensory depressant. Beginning with the haunting shrill of the drill we hear sitting in the waiting room, to the musty dark wood paneling on the office walls from 1972, to the dogeared Highlights magazine that regrettably activates our memory to your very first drill & fill cavity experience.
My question is when you finally muster up the courage to book an appointment, where do you turn for advice? Do we randomly Google a local dentistry office, flip through old magazines hoping to find an article on “Happy Teeth”, or poll your friends flashing the best pearly whites? Or do we just throw caution to the wind and walk into our local dentist office squeezed between a bodega and an OTB office?
When you think about it you only have “one smile.” Ya’ might just want to pass on the previous options and turn to a most credible source for information; the dentist’s dentist, celebrity dentist Dr. Jeff Bartlett at DreamSmileCenter. SerafinoSays asked Dr. Barlett for a advice on how to find the right dentist trained in today’s latest procedures, utilizes state of the art technology… and of course has a current selection of magazines other then Highlights!
When we first arrived at Dr. Bartlett’s office, we were pleasantly surprised (actually shocked) to see a beautiful decor that included hip music in the background, current VOGUE magazine on a neat coffee table, entertaining and educational videos quietly running on flat screens, and… wait for it…. several foot massage machines in the waiting room. Judy, the receptionist/assistant greeted us with her gorgeous pearly white smile. She kindly asked us to fill out a few forms, patiently answered all of our questions, offered us a beverage, then suggested we call her for any additional questions.
We sat for a few minutes when Judy informed us that Gloria, the dental hygienist, would be with me shortly. Within seconds, Gloria appeared with another pearly white smile and contagious demenour. (For a short second, I forgot I was at the dentist office.) At first glance the room looked like something out of a futuristic movie. The chair was a soft white leather with heated cushions facing a monster flat screen TV, a ipod docking station, and hanging on the side of the tray was a brand new set of BOSE Cancellation Head Phones. I must admit, the head phones must have been a decoy from all the sharp metal tools sitting on the tray but that didn’t seem to matter anymore.
While I sat comfortably in the reclined chair listening to Adele on the head sets, watching dolphins frolic in the ocean on the flat screen, Gloria attended to her due diligence on my teeth. By the end of Gloria’s exploratory probing in my mouth and some X-Rays, she and my molars had become best friends.
Gloria asked me to sit tightly as Dr. Bartlett would be with my shortly. Still captivated by the dolphins swimming on the 50″ monitor, I was somewhat taken aback when a very handsome man suddenly appeared sitting on the stool next to my chair. Dr. Bartlett reached to shake my hand to introduced himself and then asked how was my visit so far. His sincerity caught me by surprise and I barely uttered, “I’m OK thank you.” If only I could blame my giddy answer on the Lidocaine.
Dr. Barltett was the first dentist that ever explained completely what he was going to look for before he even picked up a tool. He walked me through step-by-step what he was looking for and what he was seeing. Afterward Dr. Barltett assessed the situation and we discussed necessary, as well as recommended, procedures to make my mouth a happy and healthy one. For the very first time in a dentist chair, I was confident and comfortable to move forward on what needed to be done.
I was definitely a patient for life! The dentist office was no longer a place of fear, but a place where I knew I would “literally” find myself smiling.
For all the reasons listed above and several more, it was obvious to me that Dr. Bartlett was the perfect choice to offer a Top 10 List of what to look for when searching for a dentist.
Dr. Bartlett’s TOP TEN “MUST HAVES” when searching for a Dentist :
- One-hour Tooth Whitening – Is a one hour teeth lasering that is performed in the dental office.
- Invisalign – Offers Invisible Braces. Trays that are custom fit and are changed every two weeks as the teeth are straightening.
- All Porcelain Crowns – When a dentist will no longer use metal underneath the crown which can cause a black visual line on the teeth. Porcelain crowns are all white and visually look aesthetically pleasing.
- High-Speed Braces – High speed way to cosmetically straighten the teeth. Can be as little as 6 months
- Computerized Smile Simulation – A dentist will take a digital before image and will simulate the image to what your smie will look like after treatments.
- Painless Computerized Injections – No more painful needles. The Wand is a computerized injection that no longer causes pain during insertion into the gums.
- Oral Cancer Screening – Offers a laser light that can determining cancer at the earlier stages instead of waiting until it is visible in the mouth and already progressed to later stages.
- Tooth Colored Filling Materials – White bonded material that matches tooth color versus old mercury silver filling that can cause further health issues and potential cracking of the teeth.
- Laser Dentistry – a laser machine that has the capabilities to remove tissue, clean gum pockets, occasionally fill a surface cavity and can occasionally be done without anesthetic.
- Sedation Dentistry – Offers oral sedation to make anxiety free environment during dental work as simple as taking one little pill before your appoint.
“True beauty isn’t about perfection. By liberating people to realize this simple fact, we help them see the real beauty within themselves.” Kristan Serafino
“True beauty isn’t about perfection. By liberating people to realize this simple fact, we help them see the real beauty within themselves” Kristan Serafino
Nothing better than a backstage hug from Cinderella (aka) Laura Osnes
From an actors perspective on the stage looking out at the audience
